jeudi 25 octobre 2012

Next month, Eskimo records will release 'Eskimonde', a 5CD retrospective box set. The two first cd's dig extensively in the Belgian label's back catalogue. CD 3 includes 12 new and unreleased remixes from the likes of DJ Harvey, Solomun, Deetron, Moonlight Matters. 4 and 5 are mixes from The Glimmers.The box will also include a poster featuring a decade of Eskimo artwork.

vendredi 12 octobre 2012

I've been diving again into the library music world lately. I bought the two volumes of the Cosmic Future Groove series and today i discovered this gem; released by Public Information.

This is Tomorrow’s Achievements, an exclusive Public Information foray into the Canadian Library institution, Parry Music.

With access granted by founder John Parry we have selected twenty-five of our favourite electronic tracks, a late summer / early autumn heat-wave of perfect melody.

Parry Music was founded in Toronto, 1974 by John Parry and Chris Stone. John was formerly a manager of revered UK library Chappell Music and Chris was a Canadian music consultant, both brought some familiar musicians to the table.

Johnny Hawksworth, Robin Artus, Paul Kass, Nino Nardini (close allies with Roger Roger) are on board Tomorrow’s Achievements . At the same time we have a little known Canadian Library musician who features heavily, one Harry Forbes.

Forbes is the real driving force of our Parry-Love; a master of imminent, hummable melody, sublime synth miniatures baked in sweetness. Elsewhere we revel with the other players in proto-Balearic house, groovy electronic disco, spooked choral drone, freaked-modular scorch, weird Radiophonic bleep. These are the soundtracks to movie car chases never known, lost kids TV shows never realized, radio-ads never broadcast – music to make your ears sing for more.

A compliation put together piece by piece at Public Information HQ, lovingly re-mastered by Rashad at D&M and artwork by Jack Featherstone.

vendredi 5 octobre 2012

■The Kontrol Z2′s 2+2 design supports both analog and digital DJing techniques. Two standalone channels provide connectivity for turntables or CDJs while two additional channels offer control over TRAKTOR Remix Decks, cue points and effects. This combination of hardware and software accommodates a variety of workflow styles, from vinyl and CDJ setups to elaborate controller configurations.

■Aircraft-grade construction

■24-bit soundcard

■XLR outputs

■Separate booth output and microphone input

■HID technology delivers seamless integration with CDJs including enhanced visual and tactile control of key features.

■Built-in USB hub adds connectivity for additional controllers without having to use the host computer’s USB ports, making it easy to integrate add-on controllers such as KONTROL F1 and X1.

■‘Premium-quality’ Innofaders.

■The two primary channels each feature a dedicated three-band EQ, filter and fader section, while two separate, chunky rotary volume knobs offer control over the Traktor channels.

■Four additional multi-colored LED buttons for each TRAKTOR channel assigned to control cue points and Remix Decks are placed in their own section on the Kontrol Z2.

■New Macro FX specifically designed for TRAKTOR combine multiple Traktor effects on a single control on the hardware. Customized to classic DJ workflows such as breakdowns, punch-in or blends, Macro FX condense complex effect performances to a single action, increasing the possibilities available to creative DJs.

■New Flux Mode tracks the time during complicated scratch and effect performances, allowing for creative loop rolls or effects while returning the song accurately to the beat.

MIDI mapping opens the software up to be mapped to a secondary MIDI controller to take full advantage of all Serato DJs features in your performance and create your own unique workflow.

Save your work

Played a great set? Want to share your latest bangers with the world? Save your nights work or record your latest mixtape. In-software recording gives you the ability to save your mix with the click of a button.

Loop it up

Take advantage of both auto-looping, which sets loops automatically based on the BPM of the track, and manual looping to create your own custom loops.

Four Decks

Mix with up to 4 decks for supported controllers.

Keep it all together

Lock your tracks together for seamless grooves. Smart Sync with Beatgrids gives you even more time to get creative. 4 deck mixing has never been better with the ability to create your own special blends of tracks, instrumentals and vocals without the pressure of keeping everything in time too. Less time making it work, more time at the party!

Serato Video

Mix music videos or add visuals to your sets. Serato Video support in Serato DJ gives you even more to enrich your performance, connect with the crowd and visualize the music.

You can enter Velocity Mode to trigger the SP-6 Sample Player slots. The harder or softer you hit the performance pads, the louder or quieter the samples sound.

Dual Deck Mode

Developed specifically for the DDJ-SX, this allows you to link two software deck layers and manipulate them as one. Go crazy and layer sounds!Large, Touch Sensitive Platters

Trustworthy Pioneer touch sensitive platters with platter illumination and a jog wheel display allow for the tightest control of the virtual decks in Serato DJ.

4-Channel Standalone Hardware Mixer

Connect your CDJs or Turntables and have the best of both worlds.

Slip Mode

Keep everything in time and in the groove. Turn on this mode and trigger cue points, loops or scratch. Once you are done, the track will go back to the position it would have been had you done nothing.

Hardware FX Controls

Dedicated hardware controls for the brand new FX Powered by iZotope in Serato DJ.

Slicer

Chop sections of your tracks up and re-arrange on the fly. The Slicer cuts a section of your track into 8 pieces, which can be triggered creatively with the 8 performance pads.

Dedicated HP/LP Channel Filters

A dedicated High Pass / Low Pass filter per channel gives you more control to create smooth blends and interesting sounds.